Boop
by unforgetabELLE
Summary: A blush spreading up her neck as she realized she'd been oogling. He winked at her, his eyes sparkling in amusement at her embarrassment. Then he was gone, fading back into the darkness of the night, and Marinette was left watching him go, wondering if it was ridiculous to fall in love at first sight without ever having seen the person's face.
1. Chapter 1

* _inspired by true events ;)_

* * *

"Ahem," she heard Alya clear her throat from behind her. "And just where are you going in such a hurry?"

Marinette cringed, recognizing by her tone that Alya most certainly already knew the answer and that Marinette was about as sneaky as she'd always been. Which was to say, not at all. At least, not when it came to her emotions.

"Umm," she turned with an abashed smile on her face. "I thought we'd go this way today. We always follow the park in the same route. Why not...switch it up?"

She continued to smile at Alya while the girl rolled her eyes and walked over towards her. Marinette really didn't know why she'd bothered trying to lie. This was week three following the same pattern. She wasn't fooling anyone, least of all, herself. That didn't mean she wasn't trying.

"I don't know whether this obsession is endearing or creepy!"

"It's not an obsession!" Marinette protested before realizing that in doing so, she confirmed Alya's suspicions. From Alya's self-satisfied smirk, Marinette knew she'd played right into her hands.

"Okay, fine it's a _little_ obsessive, but," Marinette tried to redeem herself. "I mean, we bought season tickets for all these halloween parties, so I'm going to come and use them."

"This is true," Alya allowed. "But it doesn't change the face that we spend half the night each time in the same section."

"It's the least scary!" Marinette claimed.

"And he's there," Alya smiled, not letting Marinette avoid the heart of the matter. "Your Boop."

Marinette felt the blush seep across her cheeks, but she couldn't deny it. She would have come to the park anyway, of course. She usually didn't frequent the competing theme park, but Halloween had become an exception. She and Alya worked at the theme park across town, and while most of the year she was a snob as to the superiority of her workplace, this one had it beat for a truly spooky Halloween experience.

And it had Boop.

She wasn't really sure how that nickname had caught on, but it didn't seem to be going anywhere. She should have just held her tongue, but she had been surprised and it had just seemed to slip out. There were scare actors all around, popping out of bushes and from behind trashcans. Her and the girls had been walking around all night, so she'd gotten desensitized to people in masks trailing them ominously, beginning to grow accustomed to and savor the shiver of adrenaline in her veins. When they got to the heroes and villains section, she thought she was done with her thrills for the night.

Oh how wrong she'd been.

It was the last "scare section" of the park, and it was supposed to be the one to ease you out for the night. It wasn't too scary, channeling a Gotham-esque theme with various villains and masked vigilantes roaming the streets, acting out random hostage situations or superhero showdowns. It was the most theatrical part of the park, most closely resembling the movies instead of just a haunted house, but it also had the least crowd interaction. The actors weren't allowed to talk to the park-goers and there were only a few minor characters who prowled creepily, aiming for a scare or two.

That's how she'd found him….or rather, how he found her.

She had spent the night with some friends from work and they'd been standing in the same place for a while, just enjoying the spoopy atmosphere of the last zone and finishing their drinks before they headed out for the night. She discovered during the course of the evening that something in her face labeled her an easy scare, and time and time again she found herself the target of the group. It made sense, Alya had self-declared RBF, Juleka had her whole daughter-of-darkness vibe, and while Rose looked sweet, she'd chosen tonight to really go all out with the halloween makeup and her zombie theme definitely left Marinette looking the least intimidating of the bunch. She'd resigned herself to being the sacrificial lamb of the night, but when they'd hit the last zone, she'd thought that role had been completed for the evening.

The girls had just settled into a companionable silence when she felt someone hovering just behind her left shoulder. She saw her friends eyes start to dart in that direction, smilies threatening to break out on their faces. Still, even turning slowly and knowing what awaited her, she jumped.

"Boop," she said, the nonsensical word somehow describing his sudden appearance perfectly in her head. He smirked at her, and she couldn't help but smile shyly back, taking in his green eyes as they crinkled slightly behind his black mask. Far from the menacing looks she'd seen all night, they were...kind. She saw a spark of his vibrant personality peek through his persona as he stood, hands clasped behind his back and swaying slightly with an innocent look on his face. The mischievous grin on his lips contrasted with that facade, but as her eyes looked to the cat ears perched upon his blonde head, she couldn't help but be charmed.

Then her eyes started traveling down into more dangerous territory, skirting the long lengths of his body clad in skin-tight pleather. Her gaze darted back to his, a blush spreading up her neck as she realized she'd been oogling.

He winked at her, his eyes sparkling in amusement at her embarrassment. Then he was gone, fading back into the darkness of the night, and Marinette was left watching him go, wondering if it was ridiculous to fall in love at first sight without ever having seen the person's face.

Of course Alya just happened to have her camera out for that entire encounter, and now it was documented and preserved for the rest of time. It had been well distributed too, until all their close-knit friends knew of the tale of the star-crossed lovers, separated by competing parks and the fact that she didn't even know what his face looked like, let alone his name. Also, there was the small detail that he was just a scare actor doing his job and she was bordering on stalkerish by coming back each weekend and guessing correctly at his set-schedule.

That was why, although they came back once a week, she never approached him. It was his place of work. He couldn't escape her, and the last thing she wanted to do was harass the park employees. She knew herself how niceties were sometimes misconstrued into something more by vacationers. She worked in costume design and was mainly behind the scenes, but her friends who were out on the stage had to deal with handsy fathers more than a few times, and she was always disgusted and righteously indignant for them everytime they came home with a new story. While Alya joked, telling her to write her number in lipstick on his baton, she didn't want to put someone else in an uncomfortable situation like that.

So she remained silent, pining from afar, hoping he'd come to her, and venting to Alya during the week. It was almost ridiculous. She'd "known" him, if you could claim to know someone who was nameless and faceless in your mind, for a few weeks now. Every time they came to the park, there he was, never failing to spot her and never failing to "boop" his way over.

Even his buddies seemed to recognize her. There was a guy in a bizarre gorilla- Abraham Lincoln mask she swore had laughed at her the other week. Then he'd disappeared somewhere and her Kitty appeared moments later. Apparently, it was known just exactly who she was there for, and even complete strangers could see the heart she wore on her sleeve.

Yes, she was the one obsessing, but he wasn't exactly doing anything to discourage her. With that smirk and those eyes...He winked at her again last week...God, she was a mess.

At least tonight it was only Alya here to witness her crazy. She dragged her chuckling friend through the park, expertly weaving through the crowds and the maze of streets designed to get tourists lost for hours. When they arrived at his zone, she slowed, finding the bench she'd started to consider hers as it gave her the perfect view of the entire plaza, and sat down, staring straight ahead to avoid Alya's eyes. She heard her friend sigh.

"Fine, you weirdo. I'll go get drinks so at least we don't look like complete creeps."

Marinette looked up just in time to see Alya rolling her eyes, but gave her friend a smile. She didn't know how Alya managed to put up with her crazy, but took some consolation in the fact that her friend loved being the logical one and secretly craved the entertainment value that came with the drama Marinette created for herself. Alya got a laugh and Marinette got a voice of reason to tell her when she was spiralling or to back her up when she was ranting.

"You're the best!" She called as her best friend walked away and Alya just shook her head, but Marinette saw her shoulders vibrating with laughter.

She sat there for a few moments looking around before she started to overanalyze everything. Was she being too obvious? What if he saw her looking around and thought (rightly) that she was looking for him?

In a flurry, she pulled out her phone, nearly dropping it in her haste. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself and started to scroll through newsfeeds and tumblr posts absentmindedly. Her concentration was elsewhere as her mind worked on overdrive, thinking through endless scenarios of what she would do when she saw him-while knowing that she was too shy to actually do any-when she heard a rustle to her left.

"What did you get us?" She looked over only to see that the person sitting next to her most certainly was not Alya Césaire.

* * *

As he got ready in the "actor's lounge" that was really a glorified locker room, Adrien couldn't help but smile. It was Friday. _She_ came on Fridays.

It was stupid, really. She didn't even know him. He didn't even know _her._ He couldn't, he wasn't allowed to talk to the party attendees, but he was still drawn to her. And if her religious attendance every friday night was any indication, he hoped that she wasn't unaffected by him either.

It started off completely ordinary. He was walking among the shadows like he always did, spying out groups and picking the most likely target. You couldn't always tell by look alone, but usually there was one person huddling as close as possible to their group, their eyes darting around for possible threats. It was ironic, really, that the person who seemed on highest alert always ended up being the person easiest to take unawares. It was as if their paranoia fueled the reason for their paranoia, trapping them in a vicious cycle.

Her group didn't seem to have that person. They were all more or less relaxed, walking around aimlessly in the manner of people in-the-know. He labeled them immediately as park workers themselves, even though he was sure he'd never seen them here. They surveyed the tourists with a mixed look of amusement and disdain while wandered around leisurely, in no hurry to cram as much "experience" into one night as possible. Someone must have told them this was the least scary zone of the park, and Adrien felt a grin stretch across his face. He could have fun with this group.

He liked being a scare actor, using his innate grace from years of forced dance lessons to sidled up silently and scare even the most steely faced guests. But ever since the night he met her, there was a role he liked even more, and its end result was her smile.

Using the cat-like grace that mirrored his costume of choice, he walked casually up behind the group of girls, hovering just to the side of the brunette girl's peripheral vision. She wasn't necessarily the easiest target in the group, but she was in the back, and she had a kind face that hinted to him she'd take the scare the best. He'd more than once been hit by startled women who then burst out into tears. While it was a horror party, making people cry was never great for business. He tried to pick his targets wisely. After all, he was a vigilante, not a villain. He was supposed to be the _good_ kind of scary.

But when she turned and their eyes met, nothing could have prepared him for what happened next. She gave a little jump of surprise, but her eyes looked directly into his.

"Boop," she squeaked and then a blush spread across her cheeks, highlighting the most mesmerizingly imperfect constellation of freckles.

He was at a loss for words, and was for the first time thankful that he wasn't actually allowed to talk. He gave her a grin that he hoped came off as mischievous and not starstruck before melting back into the shadows. Just as he went, he saw her smile in return and felt his heart flip delightfully in his chest.

"Gee, I wonder what you could be smiling about," Nino's voice sounded from behind him and Adrien looked up to meet his best friend's eyes in the mirror. "Oh, that's right," Nino tapped his head as if just remembering. "It's Friday."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Adrien responded haughtily, literally turning up his nose at his friend as he powered it with the stage makeup dramatically. In his efforts though, he'd forgotten to shake off the loose powder and ended up choking on a cloud of makeup instead. Nino simply laughed his ass off.

"Do that," he commanded when he finally caught his breath again. "That will woo her."

"I don't need you help in the wooing department, thank you very much," Adrien replied and mock glared at his friend.

"Oh, okay," Nino nodded seriously. "So I shouldn't come tell you when she shows up again."

Adrien froze, remembering how just last week he was about to go off shift for the night, feeling more than a little downtrodden that she hadn't shown and berating himself for imagining a connection when there clearly wasn't one, when Nino came running up to him with the news. Or, _Ape-_ braham Lincoln did. He smiled again, remembering how his pun gave birth to Nino's villain costume. It really was majestic.

"Ummm, actually…" he hedged, finally responding to Nino's empty threat and his best friend just shook his head in amusement.

"Don't worry, my dude. I'll make sure to be on high alert for your girl."

"Thanks," Adrien breathed a sigh of relief and turned his attention back the mirror as he put on his mask. He checked his ears once more before nodding in satisfaction. Done, with not a minute to spare, as always. He turned to walk out with Nino to find the boy already way ahead of him.

"Just make sure to invite me to the wedding!" Nino called, halfway down the hall and chuckling. Adrien groaned and closed his eyes. He was never going to live this down.

He didn't even get a chance to retort as they stepped out onto the back alley, queuing up to go through various entrance points. They technically could talk in this area, but it was frowned upon. Sometimes guests mistakenly, or intentionally, wandered where they shouldn't be. It was best to keep the act up at all times just to be safe.

Nino was right in front of him, turning to lift his mask and wink before he descended into the hellish cityscape of their scare zone. Adrien rolled his eyes, waiting a few minutes before following. They didn't always work the same shifts, but they overlapped enough that Nino had every reason to tease him for this crazy crush he'd let get so out of control. Still, Adrien couldn't just let him get away with it. He was working on trying to store away witty responses to Nino for later, but then he saw her.

Sitting on a bench, she called to the friend that she always came with before her eyes started to dart around. He shuffled back behind the nearby bushes and watched her, hoping beyond reason that she was looking for him. Then, just as drastically as she had started, she stopped. Moving to fumble for her phone, she started scrolling through something with a fervor. He'd never seen someone trying and failing so spectacularly at being nonchalant before in his life. It was adorable.

 _She_ was adorable.

He smiled as she took a calming breath and crossed her legs, her elbow coming to rest at their intersection and her head falling against it. Her lips formed a determined pout as she forcefully focused on her phone screen. It was almost a petulant expression, but Adrien felt his breath catch at the sight of her, completely unaware of what she was doing to this cat's heart.

Taking a deep breath himself, he forced his feet to move forward, feeling clumsy for the first time in forever and sure she'd spot him coming. But even as he sat down silently next to her and mimicked her posture perfectly, she was oblivious to it all.

He deliberately shifted and he saw her start at the rustle of his costume. She was still shutting down an app on her phone, but smiled widely as she started to turn in his direction.

"What did you get us?"

She looked up then and froze. Realizing he was very much not her friend, her smile vanished as her eyes went wide. He was sad to see it go, and desperately hoped that one day he could steal one of those smiles for himself. One meant for him.

Not able to talk, he straightened his posture and held out his empty hands in front of him. Looking between them rapidly before turning back to her with a frown and shrugging in sadness at their emptiness.

The ghost of a smile crossed her face even as she tried to keep it expressionless.

"Is that right, kitty? You show up to our date empty handed? What am I supposed to think?" She answered him with a coy grin. Then he watched as her face fell, realizing what she had said and clearly not knowing where such boldness had come from. He himself was rendered speechless by the girl's flirty wit and easy use of a nickname, but luckily he didn't have to speak. He grinned widely, hoping to keep her from reverting back into a shy shell around him and to hang onto the glimpse of who she must be with her friends.

With a flair for the dramatic, he help up a finger for her to wait before clawing at his chest and pretending to cringe in agony as he pantomimed ripping out his own heart before holding his hand towards her in offering.

She laughed outright this time, although the blush from earlier still pinkened her cheeks, and reached to accept his gift.

"You are too kind, but to give your heart so freely?" She shook her head in admonishment. "We don't even know each other's names!"

He cocked his head at her, a plan forming as he mentally mapped an elaborate game of charades and then grinned. Sitting up straight, he held up two fingers.

"Two words," she caught on immediately and he tried to take a mental snapshot of the determined light that came to her eyes. So his Lady was competitive. Good to know.

He held up one finger.

"First word."

He pointed to his cat ears on the top of his head.

"Umm," her nose crinkled in concentration. "Ears? Sounds like?"

He shook his head, grabbing the tail attached to his costume as well, still pointing to the ears.

"Cat?" She narrowed her eyes and he made a see-sawing motion with his hand as if to say _almost._ Then he held up two fingers again.

"Second word."

He gestured to his entire costume.

"Suit? Um, leather? _Pleather?_ " She furrowed her brow and he pursed his lips, trying to think how to act out an idea as abstract as a color. He hadn't picked this name, and if he knew he'd be playing charades with a pretty girl he'd have definitely picked something simpler, and probably in english.

Thinking of and idea, he pointed to his ear.

"Sounds like," she guessed correctly this time and he pointed to his back.

"Spine? Umm," she bit her lip. "Back?"

He spun and turned to her, pointing in triumph.

"Sounds like back," she muttered while he pointed again to his suit.

"Black!" she shouted too loudly before looking around self-consciously. He chuckled, unable to stop it from escaping and her eyes shot back to his, seeming to warm at the sound.

"So," she cleared her throat. "Black Cat? Or no, Cat Black?" She tilted her head at him quizzically and he made the _almost_ gesture again. Then he grouped all his fingertips together and placed them at his mouth before moving them outward and splaying them.

"Umm, throw up?" She looked at him with her brow furrowed and he stopped dead in his tracks and gave her a sarcastic look.

"Okay, okay," she laughed at his antics and put her hands up in surrender. "Not throw up. Try again."

He straightened his posture again, arranging his tail with precision before looking over to see her watching him with amusement. He inclined his head as if to ask if she was ready. She rolled her eyes and nodded with a smile, and he continued doing similar motions, secretly thrilling at their easy understanding.

"Sing? Speak? Talk? Say?" She kept guessing, watching him intently and he nodded. They were all close enough. Then he moved his hands to cover his heart.

"Heart," she said before pursing her lips and bringing a finger up to tap her chin. "Speak heart...talk heart...Maybe love? Talk of love….Speak love…" she looked up and he made a circular motion with his hand. She was _so close._

"Speak...Words of love...Language?"

He started nodding enthusiastically.

"Language?" she repeated. "Language of love? Oh!" She smiled at him in success and his wish from earlier in the night came true. Her smile dulled the brilliance of the moon.

"Cat Black...Chat Noir!" she exclaimed and he mimicked a round of applause as she brought her hand up for a fist bump.

"Pound it, Chat!" He smiled as he obliged.

"Well, nice to meet you, Chat Noir," she said and he turned their fist bump into a handshake, before bending over it formally and looking up at her expectantly.

"Oh," she blushed again, understanding his look. He was momentarily distracted by the way he wanted to see that expression every day for the rest of his life, but he still caught her response. "Marinette," she introduced herself.

He'd never had to focus so hard not to speak as he did in that moment. Everything in his being yearned for him to say her name, to taste it on his tongue, but then he saw his manager watching them from the corner of his eye, he stopped short. He'd been caught. Not only had he been fraternizing for _much_ too long, but he was touching a guest. Marinette followed his gaze without looking and giving him away and just nodded.

"Go," she commanded, confirming his suspicions that she must be a park worker herself to have recognized the look of a scolding manager, even one in full costume like Natalie was. "I don't want you to get into _too_ much trouble."

He nodded in thanks, but, even as he felt Natalie's eyes boring into him, was reluctant to leave, .

"Go," she whispered again, but then added more hesitantly. "I'll see you next week, chaton."

He smiled at her, getting up and bowing before moving to leave. As he backed away and melted into the crowd, he never felt himself smile so wide. Just before he was out of earshot, he managed to catch her voice again.

"What are you smiling at?" her friend asked as she walked back over, passing him completely unaware.

"Oh, just saw a cat," she responded casually.

"What? He was here and I missed it!"

"Alya! Shhh!" she admonished, her eyes looking around but not finding him as he walked out of view.

So it wasn't just him.

His smile grew impossibly wider.


	2. Chapter 2

"I'm not helping you until you spill," Alya rolled over on her bed and fixed her eyes on Marinette. It had been nearly a week and she had somehow dodged Alya's very determined interrogation attempts, only telling her best friend the bare minimum of her conversation with Chat Noir.

"I've told you what happened," Marinette replied stretching out on the carpeted floor and turning her head to face Alya.

"There has to be more that your one sided conversation, if you can even call it a conversation."

"Hey!" Marinette exclaimed, surprisingly indignant and already too protective of the boy she didn't even know. "Just because he didn't say any verbal words, doesn't mean it wasn't a conversation."

"You're right," Alya held up her hands in surrender, but the little smirk on her face told Marinette she'd known that would get a rise out of her.

"I hate you," she muttered and Alya just laughed.

"But you _love_ him," Alya sang back to her. "Look how defensive you just got!"

"I barely know him," Marinette retorted.

"Mari," Alya looked at her deadpan then. "You may not know his name, but you still have a stronger connection with him after three five-minute interactions than I've had with my last ten tinder dates. Give yourself-give _him_ \- some credit."

"The guys you date are worthless if they can't manage to realize what a catch you are."

"True," Alya smiled in thanks at their common refrain. "But we're not talking about me, and anyway, it seems like Chat Noir knows how to recognize gold when he finds it."

"Maybe," Marinette admitted, a smile coming to her face just thinking about her masked boy. "But, you know what would be even better?" She asked, turning her pitiful wide-eyed plead on Alya. "If my wonderful, brilliant, connected and clever best friend could use that amazing brain of hers and find out his name."

Alya looked at her sarcastically before turning to lay on her back and stare at the ceiling. When she crossed her arms over her chest, Marinette sighed, knowing exactly what she wanted.

Details.

"He gave me his heart," she admitted quietly after a moment and Alya was at once flipped onto her stomach and staring at her again. Marinette almost blushed just remembering it.

Alya looked at her.

"Details, Mari!"

"He just...sat down next to me, and out of nowhere I said _You showed up empty-handed to our date?_...like, Alys," Marinette looked wide-eyed at her friend, still astonished by how easily her words came to her in his presence. "I don't even know where that came from-"

"I'm so proud," Alya mimicked wiping tears from under her eyes and Marinette laughed.

She sat up, getting excited now. It wasn't that she hadn't been dying to tell Alya. Marinette just knew that as soon as she did, she would become even more invested than she already was in this fictitious relationship. But who was she kidding? That ship had sailed. She was in too deep to turn back. Now it was time to gush about it with her best friend.

"And then," she said. "He sort of clawed at his chest and held his hand out towards me," she mirrored the actions Chat Noir had taken the weekend before and watched Alya's jaw drop.

"Right?!" Marinette squealed, bouncing a bit even as she sat. "It was so cute, I nearly melted into a puddle on the spot."

"And then you played charades to guess his name," Alya finished for her.

"Well," Marinette grimaced. "Until his manager caught him about to kiss my hand and he had to leave."

"God, you two are already disgustingly cute," Alya shook her head, a smile was spreading across her face. "But I am here for every second of it."

"Thanks for your support," Marinette laughed. "But you know what would be even better…" she trailed off and Alya rolled her eyes.

"Please," she waved a hand in her direction. "I've already sent out the hounds. I'm almost as invested in finding dream boy as you are at this point."

"Have I mentioned I love you?"

"Not for a few minutes," Alya quipped back. "So we were due. But before you get excited, none of my people have gotten his name yet. They are surprisingly hush hush over at that park," Alya rolled her eyes. "You just _had_ to fall in love with a boy from the other side of the tracks didn't you?"

"I'm not _in love_ with him," Marinette muttered and Alya raised an eyebrow at her, unconvinced.

"Sure," she drawed out. "Just keep telling yourself that until we see him tomorrow. Maybe you'll start to believe it."

At the mention of seeing him so soon her face lit up and Alya laughed.

"Yeah," she reached down and ruffled her hair. "That's what I thought."

* * *

He was staring at her profile picture for the hundredth time in the last few days. Head thrown back laughing as she leaned against a brick wall, her face glowed with the warmest personality. Everything else on the social media site was private, but he didn't care. This picture was more than enough.

Thank god her name wasn't that common, or he might never have found her. While it took him two days to scroll through the friend lists of people he knew who worked at the other park,, he finally spotted her.

 _Marinette Dupain-Cheng_. A name just as special as the girl who carried it.

He'd spent the entire time since he'd found her, imagining her life. Maybe she was the daughter of french immigrants...a professional intern here for the year...a local who'd always dreamed of working at her favorite theme park from childhood… the possibilities were endless.

He was dying to know, but terrified to press that friend request button. Because, when he did, it became real. It was all fun now-romantic in its mystery-but the second he sent that friend request, it became...whatever it was meant to become. There was no guarantee she'd like the boy behind the mask. No one had before...at least not for the right reasons.

When you were the son of a millionaire, it was easy to feel insecure in your friendships...in your relationships. It was hard to ever be sure if people were there for you or for your father's money. When he'd gotten into the year long program here, he'd been ecstatic. Finally, somewhere he could be anonymous. No one here needed to know what his father did or his net worth. He could finally be free.

And, for a while, he had been. People, of course, eventually put two and two together and figured out why his name sounded so familiar, but by then he'd already found his people. Mainly, Nino, who he had been paired with during auditions at orientation and hadn't left his side since. They quickly became inseparable and Adrien honestly didn't know what he'd do once they both went back to their normal universities the next year. He knew he'd found a brother for life.

He tried to remind himself of those feelings as Nino made cooing noises and kissy faces in the mirror at him.

"I hate you," Adrien told him, but Nino didn't let up.

"Marinette Agreste," he said with a lovesick sigh and placed a hand on his heart as he fell dramatically into the chair next to him. "It sounds magical, doesn't it?"

"What did I do to deserve a friend like you?"

"Uhh," Nino looked at him with a glare and flicked his shoulder. "Get _incredibly_ lucky?"

Adrien rolled his eyes but smirked over at his friend.

"But, dude, seriously. Just hit send."

"I don't know," he hedged and Nino sighed, no doubt tired of this continuous conversation.

"Bro, I watched you two last Friday. It was genuine tooth-rotting sweetness and I, for one, think you are an idiot for waiting so long."

"But once she sees my name-"

"Nothing will change!" Nino interrupted. "Dude, not everyone cares who your father is. And she's already _clearly_ into you now, when for all she knows you could be as broke as the rest of us college kids _and ugly_. Yet, she doesn't seem to mind."

Adrien managed to smile at that.

"You don't have to tell me I'm right," Nino held a hand up after a moment. "I already know."

"I'm going to wait," Adrien decided and Nino groaned, letting his head loll over the back of the chair.

"Noooooooo!" Nino whined. "When will my ship set sail!"

Adrien just shrugged at Nino's dramatics, walking towards the costume room to get ready for his normal dancing gig.

"You'll just have to wait...at least until Friday," he amended walking out the door and down the hall.

"You're going to be the death of me," he heard Nino call, but ignored him. Truth was, he might not make it that long either.

* * *

Friday night, Marinette walked anxiously through the gates towards the various scare zones. Surprising Alya, she turned right, taking the long route to where he was. It was the final party night of the Halloween season, meaning tomorrow he'd go back to his normal job, hanging up his Chat Noir suit, and disappearing from her life unless she could find him.

Alya's sources had turned up a few leads, but nothing solid. There were friends of friends who said he _sounded_ like someone they knew, but it seemed that cat-boy's actual identity was kept under wraps. Only members of each scare zone got ready together, and most people switched costumes from time to time, so there was no way of knowing unless you were a scare actor in the same zone as him, who he actually was. Conveniently, that group of friends seemed to be rather well-contained and somehow beyond the reach of Alya's influence.

So it looked like Marinette was on her own.

Alya had done her best to pep her up, but there wasn't exactly an instruction manual for " _When you best friend falls in love with an anonymous masked scare actor whose face she's never seen and voice she's never heard"_. They were both flying in the dark here.

Alya was silent as they walked through the other scare zones, leaving Marinette alone with her thought. No one approached them, whether it was because of Alya's glare of just the the general anxious aura Marinette was throwing off, she didn't know. She didn't particularly care either.

When she got to the entrance of the last scare zone, she hesitated.

"Mari?" Alya voice questioned softly and she took a deep breath.

"Just pumping myself up," she assured her and Alya nodded, a determined motion that was quick and precise.

"You can do this, girl," she declared, and Alya said it with such conviction Marinette could feel it in her bones. She looked over at her friend again and nodded before putting one foot in front of the other and walking determinedly into the scare zone.

Of course she found him immediately. Leaning against the side of a building on the main street and swinging his tail, he was the picture of ease. Lurking in the shadows, he made just enough movement to startle people who walked by without outright scaring them. He was playing the part of dark vigilante perfectly, until you looked at his eyes. They scanned through the crowd meticulously, as if cataloging each person's face, but the disappointed slant to his mouth told Marinette he hadn't found what he was looking for.

She started walking forward before she consciously gave her legs the command to do so. Around halfway to him, she noticed that Alya had conveniently disappeared from her side, but then his eyes found hers and her attention was otherwise occupied.

He straightened up when he saw her, his face momentarily glowing as it passed under a shaft of light from the lamp overhead, giving her the most fleeting of glimpses of his devastating smile and verdant green eyes. The light cascaded down faux leather suit, accentuating all his assets in the most heartbreaking ways, but when her eyes traveled back up to his face, he was looking at her.

"Hey, chaton," she greeted when she came within distance, her voice sounding weak, but it was all she could manage. He smiled, not the mischievous grin she'd grown accustomed to seeing on his face, but a small smile that was instantly more dear to her. It was slightly crooked, dimpling only his right cheek and almost...shy.

He bowed elaborately in greeting and she smiled at the familiarity of the action. When he stood up again, he stepped right into their game of charades, going through a series of gestures she instinctively followed:, a thumbs up... pointing at his eyes... pointing at her… She laughed.

"It's good to see you too," she responded. "I told you I'd come back."

He smiled at her more widely, and after a moment's hesitation, made a swirling gesture in the air. Except , it wasn't a perfect circle...she started, recognizing the symbol and looking up at him in a question. _Did he just really make the infinity sign_? Putting together her last comment, and the universal symbol for _forever_ …

He looked a little embarrassed, and started to sign something else when a beep came from his pocket and he sighed.

"End of your set?" she guessed, kicking herself now for taking so long to get here. "Well, you'll be back in, what? Twenty minutes?"

He just looked at her sadly, making a slashing motion near his throat.

"You're done?" She guessed, and then her eyes went wide. "For the night? You're done for the night?"

He nodded and she felt her shoulders droop in disappointment. Something beeped again, and he looked dejected for a moment before his eyes lit up again.

Hastily he went through a series of motions and she got the hint, pulling out her cellphone and handing it to him. He looked around to make sure his manager wasn't watching and then his fingers were moving in a flurry across the keyboard, locking it before handing it back to her with a bow and a flourish.

"Chat, what did you-" she glanced down at her phone for a moment, but when she looked back up, he was gone. Frowning, she walked back out into the light of the main street, furiously scrolled through her contacts and looking for any name that was unfamiliar. She found none.

"Where'd he go?" Alya walked up to her. "What happened?"

"His sets were over," Marinette deflated. "He's done for the night. _For the season_ ," she realized and her spirits fell even further. "Dammit! I shouldn't have wasted so much time getting here!"

"But," Alya looked at her in confusion. "But, what did he say?"

"Nothing! He took my phone," Marinette held it up as proof. "But he did nothing. No number, not note, _nothing_."

Marinette knew she was on the verge of whining, but she couldn't help but feel cheated. Was he just playing with her this entire time? Having a laugh with monkey-Abraham Lincoln-man at her expense?

"Give me that," Alya took her phone, and Marinette didn't protest. She'd already gone through the contacts, there was nothing there. She couldn't believe she'd let herself be played. She'd been pining over this boy for _weeks_. She'd practically memorized every detail about him, replaying their brief interactions in her head on repeat. But it didn't matter-at least not to him.

"God, I've been such an idiot," she groaned, letting her head fall into her hands.

"Or not," Alya spoke up and Marinette looked up in confusion at the smile spreading over her best friend's face.

"You find this funny?" She accused.

"No," Alya turned the phone towards her. "I find this adorable."

Marinette glared at her friend for a moment more before looking down at the screen and gasping. Thank god she hadn't been holding her phone, because she definitely would have dropped it.

 _Meet me through the purple alley gate in five?_

She re-read the text from the unknown number twenty times, smiling like a fool at the cat emoji that followed, before she noticed that it was sent _six minutes ago_.

"Shit," she looked up at Alya and then around in a panic. Alya rolled her eyes and forcibly turned her in the right direction.

"Purple gate," she pointed, placing the phone back in Marinette's hand and curling her fingers around it before pushing her in the right direction.

"Purple gate," Marinette nodded. "Right. Thanks."

She had only taken one step in that direction when she noticed Chat's manager watching her and Alya peculiarly. Alya followed her gaze and her eyes narrowed.

"I've got this," she declared. "You. Go. Now."

She marched off, not in the direction of the woman, but towards monkey Abe man. Marinette didn't know what she was planning, but when Alya set her mind to something, she never failed. She almost felt sorry for monkey Abe; he didn't know the hurricane that was about to descend. Marinette walked slowly towards the corner, aiming for as inconspicuous as possible and had just turned the corner and out of Alya's view when she heard a crash followed by a boisterous laugh. She recognized it as Alya's immediately and the woman's attention turned in that direction. Using the distraction, Marinette slipped through the unlocked gate and behind the scenes, hoping Alya didn't get herself banned from the parks and hoping if she did, that it would all be worth it.

* * *

Adrien shifted nervously from foot to foot, checking his watch every fifteen seconds. He'd said five minutes, but maybe she hadn't seen it immediately. She'd had her phone in her hand the last time he saw her, but that didn't mean she hadn't put it away or was the type of person who checked it religiously... He continued to make excuses and probable scenarios, hoping that he hadn't crossed some boundary or read more into what for all he knew was just a casual flirtation.

Then he saw her walk into the courtyard, hesitant but her eyes searching for him and he had to remind himself to breathe. She'd seen his message. She'd seen it and she came. Her eyes shined even more intensely in the cool hued fluorescent lighting of backstage and her black hair shone almost blue as it fell just to her shoulders. She started walking in his direction, still not having seen him, the shadows obscuring him from main road.

When she was a few feet away, he stepped into the light, and she jumped ever so slightly.

"Chat-Chaton?" She squinted, coming closer.

"Boop," he said, smiling sheepishly as he watched her eyes light up in recognition. A nervous tension seemed to release from her body and she gave him an impish smile.

"I was starting to think you lured me back here for villainous reasons," she joked and while he saw the humor in her eyes,he recognized a hint of vulnerability lurking just in the background. In that moment, he realized that she was just as unsure as he was. Just as hesitant to put stock in what seemed like a meet-cute too good to be true. Too good to be _real_. He also realized that he never wanted to make her look at him with uncertainty every again. He wanted to be her sure thing.

"I'm not the villain, M'Lady," he closed the distance between them and leaned into an impulse he'd had for weeks now, reaching up to brush back her hair and tucking it behind one ear. His hand stilled as it brushed her earlobe, smiling at the ladybug earrings there. Lucky ladybugs. When she leaned into his palm, he felt them work their magic. He felt luckier than anyone in the world.

"I'm the hero," he finished his earlier statement, though his voice was low and hoarse.

"Does that make me the damsel in distress?" She looked up at him and raised an eyebrow, challenge in her voice. He took in her open posture but fierce expression and smirked.

"No," he answered honestly and easily. "You're the hero, too."

"Partners?" She asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. .

"Partners," he confirmed, lifting his fist for her to bump, but her smile turned mischievous.

"I have a better idea."

She continued to smirk up at him as her hands snaked around his neck before pulling him down to her level and kissing him. It was simple, and much too short, but Adrien had to agree: it was much better than a fist bump. She pulled back first, smiling a bit shyly up at him.

"Adrien," he said after a moment and her smile turned into a frown of confusion. "My name," he clarified, clearing his throat nervously and smiling when he saw an embarrassed blush creep along her neck.

"Adrien," she repeated his name with a smile on her lips and his eyes shot down, watching the way it rolled off her tongue and trying to swallow past his suddenly dry throat. He wanted to hear her say his name a million times... and then a million more.

"Marinette," he whispered, saying it aloud to her for the first time as he leaned down once more, pulled to her like a she was his magnetic north, bringing him home no matter how lost. It suddenly didn't matter that they hadn't spoken verbally until tonight. From those small interactions with her, week after week, he felt she knew him-the real Adrien-better than some friends he'd had for years.

"I'm so happy you booped me," she whispered and he let a slow grin spread across his face.

"I'd boop you anytime, bugaboo," he responded and they both grinned, laughing at the ridiculousness of it all.

This time, he wasn't shy as she leaned into him and shut her eyes. When he closed the gap between them, it wasn't short and it was _definitely_ better than a fist bump.


End file.
